580K Case General Questions

[wi4x4man]

Good Morning,

I have had my Case 580K for about a year now, and for the most part she has been a darn good machine, except for that itty-bitty filter/screen downstream of the fuel tank. It has a few issues, with all of them being electrical in nature, but otherwise a solid machine and very reliable.

One thing that has perplexed me (especially since I don't have a manual) is the Return to Dig sensor on the loader. I have done a bit of research, and cannot find squat on this model. So, can anyone tell me how the RTD system is supposed to function and how does the sensor tie in? I would appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[Coy Lancaster]

Make sure you are using a screen type filter for the fuel and also make sure your tank is clean of trash and algae.
As far as the return-to-dig function the sensor is a magnetic switch and is adjustable as you have probably figured out. It connects to the bucket spool at the bottom of the loader control valve. When you raise the loader bucket all the way up and dump your bucket you can put the loader lever in float and bucket rollback position and bucket will roll back to set position and loader frame will hit ground in float position. Does the detent work on your bucket?

 

[wi4x4man]

I am well aware of the screen filter. Learned the hard way.

In terms of the return to dig... The detent works to go into float. As for the rollback, I did not know there was a detent for that position as well. Does the magnetic switch just cause the detent position to disengage?

Perhaps why I have never noticed it, is because of the linkage that keeps the bucket from rolling back too far based on loader height is a bit sticky. For some reason, they never put a grease fitting in there, so you really need to pull the joystick hard to the left to roll back. I plan on taking it all apart and greasing it all (the extend-a-hoe foot pedal was just as bad and I had to take that all apart to grease it) because after a while the shoulder starts to get a bit on the sore side.

I will play with it tonight when I get home from work. I was clearing brush last night and got a stick jammed up into the engine compartment which also cut the heater hose by the water pump inlet. So gotta fix that first.

 

[Coy Lancaster]

Yes the mag switch does disconnect the detent solenoid, I would check the solenoid at the valve with ohm meter and also make sure you are getting voltage there. Sometimes it depends on where your bucket is on how stiff the loader lever is for bucket.

 

[wi4x4man]

Thanks for the information. I am definitely curious.

I was wondering if anyone on here has a schematic for the 580K machine, as I don't have a repair manual either. I have an intermittent problem with the alternator not charging, and I am thinking it is the excite wire as sometimes it will charge and sometimes it won't. When it does charge, at startup or shutdown the alternator light will come on. The tach will also work for that matter. But when it doesn't work... I always have to put it on the battery charger.

Initially it was very sporadic where it would not charge, and now it is doing that all of the time. I checked the connections at the alternator and key switch, and they are clean but I am not quite sure where the wires disappear and what connectors might be in there. I would rather not start to take everything apart if I could track it down on a schematic. Knowing the colors of the wires would definitely help matters. Plus I want to get the clutch cutout going again as I think that could be very useful, especially when loading or dumping, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Coy Lancaster]

Look underneath the machine on the right side and you'll see some harness connectors, you may have an issue with these being corroded. Also check your connector and the inst. cluster.

 

[Tinkerer]

For a series 3 is all I have.

 

[wi4x4man]

Dang... That is a good schematic, but not the entire thing. Thanks!

 

[Tinkerer]

Put your cursor on the image and tap it (the cursor) to enlarge it. Or save the image to your computer and use a photo viewer permenatly enlarge it. And print it then if you desire to have a portable document.

 

[fpgm04]

Wi4x4man, let me attempt to provide a little more information from memory. (Take it for what it is worth )

The tach uses the yellow-Red wire from alternator to calculate engine RPM from alternator frequency. So if the alternator is not excited, the tach will not function.

The yellow-blue wire is for alternator excitation. As was fairly common on that era equipment, excitation occurs through the instrument cluster light bulb. Therefore a corroded bulb connection, or bad light bulb will prevent excitation, as well as corroded/bad wiring harness connections as Coy Lancaster suggested.

If I understand what you are seeing, I would first start with the instrument cluster light bulb connection on the back of the instrument cluster. It is easy to get to and can get some corrosion over the years.

If that does not resolve it, then I would suggest manually exciting the alternator to make sure it is good. It is fairly simple to do with a small in-line fused wire. If the alternator is good, then start investigating for damaged wire or corroded harness connections.

 

[wi4x4man]

Thanks for the schematics!!!! Sweet!

I figured that the tach and excitation were tied together because when the alternator is charging, the tach works.

In terms of the light, I have checked that before and it too works. There was not much corrosion to speak of, but I will see if I can adjust the prongs on the lamp base to make a more solid connection. Maybe that is all there is, and if so, sweet!

I am also going to check the serial number and see if I can just get a repair manual, as I am not sure what phase machine it is. It will certainly aid in any future problems as well. I have one for my old Case 580B, but it is pretty lousy and I was reluctant to purchase one for the 580K because I was not impressed with Case's repair manuals. But seeing this schematic has given me hope that they improved. When I find out what the devil is going on, I will be sure to post on here.

 

[wi4x4man]

I opened up the instrument panel and checked the light. Sure enough, it was not getting proper continuity. I wiggled it around, and low and behold it came on and things started to work. So I adjusted the prongs and it is charging again and the tach is always working.

I never would have thought that the light would be the cause of the issues. Thanks for bringing that to my attention! It sure was a simple and easy fix.

 

[Coach v]

Wi4x4man, let me attempt to provide a little more information from memory. (Take it for what it is worth )

The tach uses the yellow-Red wire from alternator to calculate engine RPM from alternator frequency. So if the alternator is not excited, the tach will not function.

The yellow-blue wire is for alternator excitation. As was fairly common on that era equipment, excitation occurs through the instrument cluster light bulb. Therefore a corroded bulb connection, or bad light bulb will prevent excitation, as well as corroded/bad wiring harness connections as Coy Lancaster suggested.

If I understand what you are seeing, I would first start with the instrument cluster light bulb connection on the back of the instrument cluster. It is easy to get to and can get some corrosion over the years.

If that does not resolve it, then I would suggest manually exciting the alternator to make sure it is good. It is fairly simple to do with a small in-line fused wire. If the alternator is good, then start investigating for damaged wire or corroded harness connections.

The wiring on my series 3 case 580 sk is completely thrashed. I am trying to get the Alt working. I have found the yellow-blue wire at the cab in the harness, but that is all I have (the harness). What can I wire in, in place of the light to excite the alternator? This will be a semi-permanent solution.

 

[jimmyjam]

G’day,
I’ve got a potentially related problem, my 580k tacho has been sitting way too high, pretty much idle, or flat out is all it displays, and today it boiled the battery. I’m guessing the alternator is over charging? I’ll put a multimeter on it tomorrow, I wanted to let the battery cool down.
Also would an alternator out of a car work? As I have a Peugeot i’m Stripping for parts and the alternator is good in that.

 

[highwayghost]

Sounds like you need a voltage regulator. If the alternator is like factory, then the regulator is on the back of the alternator. Easy and cheap fix, see the ebay link below as an example of the regulator assembly.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VOLTAGE-RE...750929?hash=item3f6fb01751:g:nPgAAOSwux5YMejG

 

[rickw]

I had the screen filter clogging on my Super L . I removed filter and clamped the rubber line from the tank to the fluid extractor hose and sucked the some fuel and got a slug of debris out. It has been good since. It seems from the low flow the sediment would lay in the line and slowly clog filter. It is worth a shot plus I have found many uses for the extractor since. Changing oil in small engines ect. Keeps from running oil all over the place when changing oil on generators and pumps. As we all know the drain is usually right where it runs oil all over thr place because it is not a clear shot to the drain pan. Sucking brake fluid out of master cylinder resevoirs and power steering pump fluid changes. Sucking old gas out of small engines. Here the link to the one I have. You can use a air hose or it has a built in hand pump.https://www.amazon.com/EWK-Pneumati...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[JWeir]

The wiring on my series 3 case 580 sk is completely thrashed. I am trying to get the Alt working. I have found the yellow-blue wire at the cab in the harness, but that is all I have (the harness). What can I wire in, in place of the light to excite the alternator? This will be a semi-permanent solution.

I was wondering the same. My 580K tach is dead. I played with the Yellow red wire from the alternator with no change. Now I'm dying to get my dash apart to see if I can get the light to work and maybe fix the tach. I backup plan to excite the alternator would be great. This is still semi-voodoo to me as this is my first backhoe and it needs a bunch of work.

 

[rickw]

I thought the excite procedure was for the old generators? I have never heard of exciting a alternator.

 

[Tinkerer]

As far as I know all alternators have to have an exciter or it will not produce current.
My only experience is installing a self exciting voltage regulators in GM alternators to create what is mistakenly referred to as a GM one wire conversion.

 

[Delmer]

I thought the excite procedure was for the old generators? I have never heard of exciting a alternator.

How many wires do you have on the back of your alternator? Usually at least three, one big one hooked straight to the battery, one "sense" wire, and one "excite" wire (that's assuming an internal voltage regulator). If you have an electronic tachometer, that's a wild three phase wire, one of the phases to read rpm.

There's nothing mysterious about alternators, they're pretty much the same for cars or tractors.